Suspect in killings of wealthy DC family arrested

WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities in the nation's capital say more than one person is responsible for the slayings of four people inside a Washington mansion last week.

A fugitive task force arrested Daron Dylon Wint, 34, on Thursday night, and took five people who were with him into custody.

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Wint is the only person currently charged with the murder of Savvas Savopoulos; his wife Amy; their 10-year-old son, Philip; and their housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa.

But a court document suggests investigators aren't done making arrests. It says "the crimes described in this affidavit required the presence and assistance of more than one person."

Investigators tracked Wint to New York City, where they barely missed him Wednesday night, Robert Fernandez, commander of the U.S. Marshal Service's Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, told multiple news outlets.

Wint was tracked to the Howard Johnson Express Inn in College Park, on Thursday, and when officers approached, they discovered Wint in a Chevrolet Cruze in the parking lot, Fernandez said. They tailed the car, which was following a box truck, to northeast Washington, where Wint and several others were taken into custody during a traffic stop, he said.

Three of the four victims had been stabbed or bludgeoned before the fire.

Police said Thursday that Wint, a certified welder, worked for Savopoulos' company, American Iron Works, in the past. Savopoulos was the CEO of American Iron Works, a construction-materials supplier based in Hyattsville, that has been involved in major projects in downtown Washington.

Wint was born and raised in Guyana and moved to the United States in 2000, when he was almost 20 years old, according to court records filed in Maryland. He joined the Marine Corps that same year and was discharged for medical reasons, the records show. Wint was at Parris Island for boot camp from July 24, 2001 to Sept 28, 2001, but never graduated from recruit training, Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Eric Flanagan said. Following his discharge, he worked as a certified welder, court records show.

The Savopouloses lived in a $4.5 million home in Woodley Park, a neighborhood where mansions are protected by fences and elaborate security systems and local and federal law enforcement officers are a constant presence, in part because Vice President Joe Biden's official residence is nearby.

Text messages and voicemails from the Savopouloses to their confused and frightened household staff suggest something was amiss in the house many hours before the bodies were found. Their blue Porsche turned up in suburban Maryland hours after the slayings. It too had been set on fire.

DNA analysis at a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms lab linked Wint to the crime, a law enforcement official involved in the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to discuss the investigation publicly.

During the family's final hours, someone called Domino's from their house and ordered pizza. The Washington Post reported that the DNA was found on a pizza crust. At a Domino's about 2 miles away, a worker told the AP that a pizza was delivered from there to the mansion that day.

Wint was convicted of assaulting one girlfriend in Maryland in 2009, and he pleaded guilty the next year to malicious destruction of property after he allegedly threatened to kill a woman and her infant daughter, breaking into her apartment, stealing a television and vandalizing her car.

"I'm going to come over there and kill you, your daughter and friends," Wint told that woman, according to the records. "The defendant advised he was good with a knife and could kill them easily and was not afraid of the police," a detective wrote.

Also in 2010, Wint was arrested carrying a 2-foot-long machete and a BB pistol outside the American Iron Works headquarters, but weapons charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to possessing an open container of alcohol.

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Attorney Robin Ficker said Wint didn't seem violent when he defended him in earlier cases.

"My impression of him — I remember him rather well — is that he wouldn't hurt a fly. He's a very nice person," Ficker said.

The Savopouloses had two teenage daughters who were away at boarding school at the time of the killings. Relatives of the victims have made few public statements and have not returned calls from the AP. Representatives of American Iron Works have repeatedly declined to comment.